Romberg, Sigmund
ROMBERG, SIGMUND
ROMBERG, SIGMUND (1887–1951), composer. Born in Nagykanizsa, Hungary, Romberg began his musical career as a child prodigy. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Austrian army, and then studied music in Vienna with Victor Heuberger. In 1909 he went to the United States and worked in various restaurant and theater orchestras. In 1911 he wrote his first successful song, "Memories," and then began to compose musical shows and operettas. Romberg composed over 70 operettas, in a tuneful vein indebted equally to the Viennese tradition and to Victor Herbert, the founder of the genre in the U.S. His best-known works include The Student Prince (1924), The Desert Song (1926), The New Moon (1928), and Up in Central Park (1945). Many of his operettas were filmed, and Romberg himself also adapted other composers' operettas and even operas for the film. He was president of the Song Writers' Protective Association. A fictionalized biography of Romberg, Deep in My Heart, was written by E. Arnold (1949).
bibliography:
Baker, Biog Dict.